Camilla
by Sapphire Dawn
Summary: A baby shows up on the Barkleys ranching with a note saying Nick is the father. Is he or has someone left the baby with the Barkleys to raise?
1. Chapter 1

Camilla

Chapter One

The day had been extremely hot and the road long and dusty. If that wasn't bad enough, it seemed like one thing after another had gone wrong. At least the cattle drive was over and they were home. Nick dismounted his horse; all he wanted was a warm bath and a hot meal. "Let's see what Silas has cooked up," he said as he grinned at Heath, who was wearing at least two inches of thick brown California dirt. Nick was sure he was wearing just as much of it himself.

"Sounds good to me," Heath gave his brother a crooked smile as they headed for the house.

Once inside the warm bath and hot meal were both quickly forgotten. Both brothers were shocked to see Audra sitting in a chair holding an infant who couldn't be more than a couple months old; Victoria was sitting on the sofa looking rather serious and Jarrod stood by the fireplace with a similar expression as their mother. It was the expressions and the tense atmosphere in the room, not the baby that put Nick and Heath on high alert. "Whose baby is that?" Heath asked as he tossed his hat onto the small coffee table and sat down in the chair closest to the living room entrance.

Nick, who had put his hat down next to Heath's, picked up an apple and bit into it, about choked on the food in his mouth as three sets of eyes turned and looked at him. After quickly swallowing the food, Nick backed up a step. "What is everyone looking at me for? I didn't have anything to do with it."

He was shocked when Jarrod stepped away from the fireplace and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his vest pocket. "According to this," he said as he handed it to Nick frowning slightly, "You have a lot to do with it."

Nick's eyebrows turned down as he took the paper from his older brother and unfolded the paper. His eyes widened as he read: _Her name is Camilla. She is two months old. She might look like her mother's side of the family, but her father is Nick._ There were no other words on the paper.

Nick was so stunned his knees almost buckled; as it was, he had to hurry and sit down on the only other chair in the room. It was impossible! Wasn't it? He began doing the math to see where he would have been at the time the child would have been conceived.

"Nick, is there a possibility whoever left this note is telling the truth? Could this child be yours?" There was no condemnation in his mother's voice, only a tone that demanded him to answer.

Nick didn't answer at first as he had just barely placed his whereabouts to the period in question. He slowly stood up and took a few steps over to where his sister sat. Audra placed the child into Nick's outstretched arms and then watched as Nick pulled the child to him. He looked over her roundish face and sparkling hazel eyes. A faraway look appeared in his eyes as the seconds seemed to tick painfully by. The uncomfortable silence was broken when he shook his head. "I won't deny having been with a few women, but I can't honestly say yes or no right now."

Victoria shook her head and stood up. "It looks like we have a nursery to get ready. I'll talk to you later, Nicholas." The moment she said Nicholas, Nick cringed. His mother never called him that unless she was furious.

"Here," Audra scowled slightly…she was rather annoyed at Nick not the baby… as she stood up and held out her arms, "She'll be getting hungry soon. I'll take her, get her bottle ready and then feed her. Thank goodness, the baby's bottle and a few diapers were left in the basket that Mother found this morning, placed on our doorstep and abandon, poor little thing. Why Nicholas Barkley, how…ohhh…" Audra left, patting the baby's back all the while throwing another frustrated scowl at her older brother.

Having handed the young infant to Audra, Nick remained where he was standing, still going over the events he'd come up with during the time period. He wanted to deny the child was his, but he couldn't. No, he couldn't deny or confirm it, for he realized that he'd been in the Modesto area at the time and… he lifted his head and rubbed his forehead.

Jarrod would have given his brother a lecture had this happened ten years ago, but now? All he could do was shake his head as he left the parlor; he had work to do in the study and it couldn't wait. Heath watched as Nick found his way to the sofa and sat down; his brother's face showed he was still going over things in his mind. A part of Heath wanted to kid Nick about the child, but he didn't. He figured he could do that later, at a more appropriate time. As it was, Heath would have just stood up and left, but he was too curious as to what his brother had to say and he did have something to say. Heath felt it, so he waited for Nick to talk. With that being the case, the room was filled with silence for a solid fifteen minutes.

The silence was broken when Nick turned his head, looked at Heath and said, "After I have that talk with mother, would you keep an eye on the baby and help mother and Audra while I go down to Modesto?"

Heath's eyebrow raised just a little as he replied slowly, "Is that where you think her mother is?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as he sighed. "That's the only place I went during the time that child would have been conceived and, yes, I do know a young lady down there, but…" he shook his head and stood back up. "I have to go get a bath and at least put something into my stomach." He walked out of the room still in shock over what he'd found waiting for him when he arrived home.

After he'd climbed the stairs, Nick headed for the bathroom, now needing not only time to clean and do his best to relax, which wasn't going to be easy, but also time to think about what had just taken place.

***I actually favor Heath, but I can't see him getting himself into a fix like this as he would know how it was and avoid repeating any kind of history.**

**Thanks to my aunt (Tauna Petit-Strawn) for the help she has given me with this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Camilla**

**Chapter Two**

_"If you're her father, you need to do right by her." _That wasn't the only thing his mother had said to him while in the study, but it was the one that continued ringing in Nick's ears as he mounted Coco. While he didn't agree with everything that his mother had told him, Nick did agree he had to find out whether Camilla was really his or not. So much for a bit of time to relax, he'd have to wait for that one.

"See you, Nick!" Audra called out on the porch and watched him ride out. She then looked at the infant in her arms and hoped. All right, for her brother's sake, she probably should pray that a mistake had been made. So, why did she find herself hoping otherwise?

She turned when she heard footsteps behind her; it was Jarrod. However, nothing was said until Nick disappeared out of sight and even then it was Audra who initiated the talk. "How does it feel to be an uncle?" Her eyes laughed as she asked the question. She couldn't help it; Jarrod looked almost as uncomfortable as Nick had.

Jarrod threw his sister a smile as he answered, "I don't know yet. It still feels like we simply have a visitor in the house."

Audra couldn't argue with that one, but that wasn't going to stop her from playing the part of a doting aunt while she had the chance. She turned around and took the infant back inside, while Jarrod headed for the stables. He needed to talk to Ciego before he headed for town.

**000 ****  
**  
By the time night fell, Nick could only dream about his bed at home. He threw some more wood on the campfire he'd built and stared up at the few stars that hung in the darkened night sky. He let his mind wander to the previous fall, back to the trip that he had made to attend a friend's wedding. The churchyard was full of people, all congratulating the newly married couple. The children ran in and out, and all around the bushes and trees that had been planted next to the church and around the grounds. Nick had given his best to the groom and his bride and then headed out of the churchyard only to be stopped in his tracks.

The bride groom's brother, Charles, walked up beside Nick and smiled. He could easily see why Mr. Barkley had stopped walking. A young, dark haired woman sat on a bench underneath one of the trees. She was looking straight ahead, but at nothing in particular. "Her name is Rachel-Marie Ballard; she's blind. Her parents care little about her, as they don't think someone with problems like hers is useful. I'm surprised they even sent her to the blind school. The way Mr. and Mrs. Ballard are, Rachel-Marie will be lucky to ever get a beau, or a decent one anyway. Poor thing, most people look upon her as too much of a liability to worry about. Actually, I'm shocked to see her sitting there with this wedding going on. If you're looking for a gal, there's plenty of other girls available." Charles had then walked away and found the girl he was interested in and asked her to dance.

Nick didn't care that the young woman was blind and was appalled at the non-caring attitude that Charles had conveyed. Nick didn't think it at all right for people to treat her the way that Charles indicated they were. He'd taken his leave from Charles and headed over to where Rachel-Marie sat.

Nick sat up straight when he heard a rustling sound near the bushes. He pulled out his pistol, just in case he needed it, and waited. He had to start laughing when a small rabbit came through the bushes and darted off in the direction opposite from where he was. He was definitely too much on edge. He threw more wood on the fire and then went to get his bedroll off his saddle. His mind again wandered back through time.

Nick helped Rachel-Marie down from the buggy. He'd convinced her to go on a picnic with him in spite of the fact that she felt he should be interested in someone who had her sight. After all, a blind girl was just a liability for him. He didn't agree with her and said as much. It had taken a lot of talking, but Nick had been successful in persuading her to join him. The two laughed and talked most of the afternoon. Later, the night before he was to leave, he'd finished his business and was on his way to the boarding house when he'd bumped into her coming out of the back of the schoolhouse where one of her friend's was a teacher.

"May I look at you, Nick? I want to see what you look like," Rachel-Marie had asked somewhat hesitantly only to be pleased as Nick lifted her hands up to his face. She smiled as she ran her fingers across his forehead and down the front of his face, the whole time asking questions. Questions like; "What's the color of your hair?" and "What's the color of your eyes?"

Nick, now lying underneath his blanket, ran the events of the night over in his mind. After she'd looked at him, they'd talked and laughed longer than they'd ever dreamed of doing. When it started to threaten to rain hard, they'd hurried into the schoolhouse; they'd continued talking and getting to know each other. When lightning hit a bit too close for comfort, she'd flown into his arms. It was then he'd found himself kissing her. At first it was just an innocent kiss, only they hadn't stopped when they should have. Before either one of them knew it the heat they'd created was too much, and they just had to have each other. Silently he groaned, as he remembered how she'd made him feel, how they'd made each other feel. Afterwards, he begged her to tell him if a child had been conceived. Rachel-Marie had sworn she'd send him word if that happened. If the child on the ranch was theirs, why hadn't she done so? It wasn't until that thought entered his head that another one latched itself onto it and made him sit straight up. If Rachel-Marie was Camilla's mother, and the young infant was now in his house, did that mean Rachel-Marie had died giving birth to the young girl? If she had, who had dropped the child off?

Nick forced himself to lie back down; none of this was making any sense. As much as he wanted all the pieces of the puzzle linked together that night, he knew that was impossible. He had to relax and get some sleep. He would need his strength for the long ride ahead of him, then his wits about him when he started his search. He lay back down and did his best to do just that, relax that is. However, it was to be another two hours before he finally drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Camilla

Chapter Three

Night was again drawing nigh, as Nick rode into Modesto. The streets and wooden sidewalks were practically bare of people. He made his way to the livery stable where he dismounted Coco and opened the door. Stepping inside, Nick looked around. It didn't take but a split second for a young boy of Mexican decent to approach him. "May I help you, sir?"

"How much would I owe you to keep my horse here for a couple of nights?" Nick asked as he pulled out his wallet. After the boy answered him, Nick handed him the money, grabbed his saddlebags and headed for the boarding house, hopefully they had a room. While he was tempted to get a room over the saloon, Nick figured there would be plenty of time for drinking after he got his answers.

He walked past the general store, the jail house, and a few other buildings before he got to the boarding house. At first he wondered if he was seeing things and just what had happened to the place, but he quickly realized all that had taken place was a lot of remodeling on the part of the owners. Once inside he rang the bell that sat on a small desk inside the home.

Mrs. Johnson, the proprietor of the boarding house, walked out of the kitchen. The woman's salt and pepper hair, along with more than a few wrinkles clearly told any visitor, the good woman…and she was good…had seen more than a few years pass by in her lifetime. "Well, hello, Mr. Barkley. It's good to see ya." Mrs. Johnson's eyes lit up as she spoke with her thick West Virginia accent. She always liked it when the Barkleys came into town; they more than made up for the rude customers she got now and then. Even with years of travelling, she still couldn't believe the comments some people would make just because of what they heardas a funny accent.

"Good to see you too," Nick answered as he looked around. The once plain brown walls had been painted off white, new furniture now sat in the front room and various pictures had been put up, along with various plants. "Looks like you've been changin' things around."

Mrs. Johnson smiled; it was nice when customers complimented the changes she and her husband had made to their place of business. After thanking him for the compliment, Mrs. Johnson handed him a key to one of the bedrooms, told him he'd just missed supper, but that she'd warm some leftovers up for him and then disappeared back into the kitchen. It didn't take Nick long to deposit his saddlebags in the room he'd been given and to find his way back downstairs. Once he was seated at the table, Nick figured he'd make light conversation and ask some questions, though he would be careful of what questions he asked. After all, he'd been thinking a lot and already felt like a heel for not checking up on Rachel-Marie himself. She probably felt used, and he hated that idea. No, he would do what he could not to throw any more dirt on an already sticky situation. That is, if she was Camilla's mother.

"Do Morgan Price and his wife still live around here?" Nick asked as he leaned back to allow Mrs. Johnson to put the plate of food she'd warmed up for him on the table before him. Morgan was his friend who had been married the year before. Mrs. Johnson's face lit up as she answered, "They surely do, even have themselves a youngin' now, a strappin' baby boy, named Jonathan."

Nick smiled and then asked, "What about the Ballard family? I remember Morgan saying he hoped to buy a bit of their farm land in the future." Okay, so the man had only talked about two acres, but who was going to get that picky?

Mrs. Johnson, who'd remembered the attention Nick had paid to Rachel-Marie, figured she knew why he was really asking his question. She quickly turned away and started cleaning up. That made Nick a bit more than curious. "I haven't heard of Mr. Ballard sellin' any portion of his farm yet, though there's plenty of talk goin' round he's a thinkin' 'bout it."

Since Mrs. Johnson was famous for giving long winded answers, her short ones told him something was up. That being the case, he figured he'd have no choice but to get to the point, rather than beat around the bush. "What's Rachel-Marie up to these days?" When Mrs. Johnson started and didn't answer right away, Nick wondered what was wrong and why she didn't answer right way. When she answers his question, Nick was shocked beyond measure.

"If that's what ya came to town for, yer wastin' yer time. You might as well turn around and go back to Stockton." She continued to clean up.

Since turning around and going back to Stockton without some answers wasn't an option, Nick pushed the subject further. "Why? What's happened?" Not that he had to ask, somehow, he was sure what he was going to hear. Therefore, he was shocked by Mrs. Johnson's next words.

Mrs. Johnson, who had sworn not to talk about "it" anymore, surprised herself by sitting down and answering Nick's question. "No one knows for sure where Rachel-Marie is. All her parents know, all anyone knows for sure is that she up and disappeared eight months ago. Personally, I don't see why they're so surprised she found a way to up and leave. The way her parents treated her, the way others treated her. Well, except for you. Her eyes lit up when she talked about you." Mrs. Johnson leaned back and looked at Nick and then shocked him even more with her next comment, not only because of what she said, but for the fact she had never been the kind to speculate. "Ya know, Mr. Barkley, I know I jist said no one knows: however, I don't believe that to be quite true."

Nick set his utensils' down and gave Mrs. Johnson a look that told her he was listening and wasn't going to stop listening. She remained silent for a moment and then continued speaking. "I think the priest knows more than he's lettin' on. I mean, he sure seems to suddenly get busy when anyone talks about her. Of course, with eight months being gone now, there's not as much talk, only speculation." She then stood back up and went back to work.

Having finished his supper, Nick left the kitchen and went to the room Mrs. Johnson had given him determined to do two things; get some sleep and visit one priest first thing in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Camilla

Chapter Four

Father Robert, a white hair priest, had been serving the Modesto church for close to thirty years. He'd seen all kinds of men during that period of time. He'd developed a knack of seeing through the majority of people who walked into his parish. In fact, he'd become so famous for being able to see a person's true nature that very few people in the area dared try to fool the old man. Though, at the moment, the good priest wasn't worried about anyone trying to fool him. He was too busy painting the newest pew that had been added to the old church building. When he heard the door open, Father Robert looked up, put his paintbrush down and stood up to greet the visitor.

Father Robert recognized Nick right away, as Nick and Heath had visited the church on numerous occasions in the past. Normally the old priest would have broken out in a grin and welcomed his visitor whole heartedly, but one look at the serious expression upon the man's face stopped him. "May I help you, Mr. Barkley?" Father Robert walked towards him unprepared to hear the words that Nick spoke next.

Not having slept very well the night before, Nick spoke more bluntly than he meant to. "I've been told there's a chance you can tell me where to find Rachel-Marie Ballard. I need to find her." Nick didn't need the college education like Jarrod to see that the priest had to know something. His face had paled slightly.

Father Robert quickly recovered though and looked around, relieved to see the altar boy who had come in to help him with a few things was not in sight. "Who told you I knew where Rachael was?" the man kept his voice low just in case anyone should walk in the door unexpected.

"Mrs. Johnson said ya might." Nick answered as he recited the events of the previous night. "The thing is Father, there's an infant at my family's house at this moment by the name of Camilla." Nick pulled out the piece of paper that had been left in the basket, the one he insisted on bringing to Modesto with him. He went on to explain why he'd come in search of Miss Ballard. By the time Nick was finished speaking the good priest was looking rather unsettled; he had to know something more.

Father Robert had never broken any confidence, but after hearing Nick's story, he motioned towards the door. "Let's go for a walk. There's plenty of fresh air and wide open spaces to wander around in." He didn't have to say he wanted to make sure no one was listening; his eyes said it for him…they were darting all around the room as he spoke. Nick nodded and followed him out of the church. Once outside, the two headed for the nearby open field.

Father Robert began talking, but not before asking Nick just how much he knew about Rachel-Marie's family. Nick admitted he'd only met them a couple of times and didn't know them as well as he should. He was horrified to hear that Rachael's father, Mr. Ballard, had not only a negative attitude the blind, but he was also a very abusive man behind closed doors. He might know how to be polite enough to guests and people outside his own home, but that his wife and children saw another face. Father Robert talked about seeing bruises the man's wife tried to cover up and how the children would jump at any chance they got to be away from the man.

"Eight months ago Rachel-Marie burst through the church doors around nine o'clock at night." Father Robert stopped walking and turned to face Nick. "I've never seen a more petrified young woman in my life." he told Nick. Father Robert went on to tell how Rachael admitted to having lain with a man and how she was with child. She told him how she'd been working on getting up the courage to wire the baby's father when she overheard her father yelling and throwing various items in the house around. "Her mother figured out Rachel-Marie was with child and made the mistake of confiding in her husband, perhaps hoping it would somehow change his abusive behavior."

Nick looked like he was about to explode. Father Robert held up his hand, "Do you want me to continue or not?"

"Yes, I do." Nick calmed and looked around and saw a rather large boulder and nodded towards it. "Mind if we sit down though; that is, if this is going to take very long." He wasn't surprised when Father Robert headed for the boulder. Once they were seated the priest continued his story.

He told Nick how Mr. Ballard had sworn he'd make sure his daughter lost the child as he'd not have a bastard in his home. "He also swore to find out who had fathered the child and kill him… even if he had to shoot him in the back." Father Robert looked disgusted as he spoke. He told Nick how Rachel-Marie told him she didn't dare wire the child's father as she'd promised as her cousin worked at the telegraph office and word was sure to get back to her father.

"There are other places with telegraph offices." Nick wanted to yell, but for the sake of the priest, he didn't. "Why not wire me from somewhere else?"

Father Robert only shrugged his shoulders. "A person who is scared bad enough doesn't always think straight. I tried to get her to tell me who the father was and promised her I'd do just that, go somewhere else to wire him. She was petrified though. All she would tell me was his first name was Nick. She'd convinced herself that her father would find out somehow and go after the man. As it was, the best I could do was to convince her to let me have a friend, a visiting nun, help her flee her father's house and this town. That note you showed me," Father Robert hesitated which made Nick pay even closer attention than he had been. Finally, the good man continued, "The handwriting belongs to the nun that snuck Rachel-Marie out of town and took her up to the Wyoming Territory."

Nick's jaw fell to the ground, or at least it felt like it did. He exploded, "Wyoming!" The moment the word was out of his mouth Nick clamped it shut and looked around. When he looked back at the priest, a small part of Nick wanted to chuckle…he had the same relieved expression that Nick felt was on his when they saw no one was around. "Why send her to Wyoming?" Nick lowered his voice and glared at the priest.

"You have to understand, Mr. Barkley." The priest's voice took a 'don't mess with me' tone to it. "I might know your name is Nicholas or Nick, but I didn't know you were the father. I was doing what I could to make sure Mr. Ballard could not find his daughter, beat her to a pulp and possibly kill not only the child but her as well! Those nuns lives in an abbey in Wyoming. She only came down here because she was asked to by the church and, no, I have no clue to what that business was. The only thing I asked her for was help for the young woman." He then stood up and stood as straight as possible. "I can't tell you where Rachel-Marie is for sure now. I have not heard from her since the night she left. I will say this much. If my friend knew to come back to California, write that note, and leave the child on your doorstep then my guess is that Rachel-Marie died giving birth to your baby. I can't see her just turning her back on her own child." With that the good priest walked away leaving Nick to deal with the information he'd just been handed.


	5. Chapter 5

Camilla

Chapter Five

It was almost noon before Nick made it back to the ranch; even then he sat on his horse outside the fence for a good fifteen minutes before going through the open gate and dismounting. All the way home he'd gone over his visit with Father Robert. By the time he reached Stockton, he knew he'd have to talk to Jarrod about hiring the Pinkertons to go to Wyoming and investigate the past activities of Rachel-Marie and to find out if she had indeed died in childbirth. If she hadn't, he knew he needed to go to her, to make things right…the way he should have done in the first place.

After making sure Coco was comfortable in his stall, Nick headed for the house. The whole time he was doing his best to come to terms with the fact he was indeed a father. Once inside, he found his mother and Jarrod standing in the parlor talking. One look at the questioning looks on both of their faces and Nick knew he wouldn't be seeing his daughter before he'd made the necessary confession, but it didn't mean he had to elaborate at the moment either. "She's mine. Is she in the nursery?" Nick said as he took off his hat. He wasn't surprised when Jarrod shook his head just a little and his mother shot him a reproving look.

"Yes, she is," Victoria answered, all the time continuing to send him a silent message with her eyes. One that said he'd best not shirk what was now his responsibility. Nick headed up the stairs, but not before looking at Jarrod and telling him that he needed to talk to him privately; later. Naturally, that made both Jarrod and Victoria curious, but they said nothing as Nick started up the staircase and disappeared out of sight.

Nick made his way to the nursery. When he opened the door, he saw Audra just sitting down to feed the child. "Here," he crossed the room and surprised his sister by holding out his arms, "She's my daughter, and I have some time to spare. Give me the child and her bottle. I can feed her this time." He wasn't about to add it couldn't be any harder than feeding some of the calves he'd had to feed. He was sure the comparison would not be appreciated.

Audra didn't try to hide the smile that came upon her face as she stood up and handed Camilla to him. Soon Nick was sitting in the chair feeding his daughter. Nick couldn't take his eyes off the child, so Audra slipped quietly out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

"You best know right now that this ain't happenin' very often." Nick tried to sound rough, but anyone who knew him well enough would have assured any visiting stranger that he was failing at the job. Nick continued talking, "Me feedin' you that is. This is a working ranch we have here, and everyone here has work to do. I can't be stayin' in the house tendin' to you all the time," Nick smiled at the beautiful baby in his arms, "Don't get me wrong, little girl, I won't push you past your limits when you're older, but I'll expect you to be willin' to stretch them at the same time. That doesn't mean, I'll be cruel about it, call you horrible names, turn my back on you should something cripple your or something and," he scowled slightly as he thought on Mr. Ballard, "I sure won't go hittin' you in any way, at any time. No one deserves that!" He paused as he looked at the nearby window. Only when he'd turned his attention back to his daughter did he begin speaking again; however, this time, his voice was uncharacteristically quiet, almost a whisper, "I'll do my best to do right by ya, child. I mean, it's not like you asked for your mother and me to do what we did. I was stupid too, leavin' it up to your mother to contact me instead of checkin' up on her myself. I'm more than disappointed in myself on that one. You're goin' have to learn to understand one thing though; I ain't never been a father before." He sighed as he continued rocking and feeding the young infant. He thought again on Rachel-Marie, what he'd learned about her family and what Father Robert had told him when it came to where she, Rachel-Marie, had gone. He couldn't help but shake his head. "I don't know yet what the situation with your mother is. I know what Father Robert's guess was, and I can see why he thinks what he does. For all our sakes though, I gotta know for sure. If she's alive, I just gotta make things right." Nick found a lump in his throat as the young infant raised her hand and touched his hand, and he could have sworn he saw his daughter's eyes smile. He wasn't sure what to think about the hand bit, but it sure had made his heart feel as if it would burst.

Because the window was opened just a hair, a nice breeze blew through the room. It helped lull Nick into a peaceful part of his mind; that is, until he found Camilla had emptied the bottle. He put the bottle on the nightstand and, finding a small cloth, put it over his shoulder and burped the child. The whole time he was feeling like a fish out of water, but he'd vowed on his way home to make sure the child did not know what it was like to be raised around a man with a temper so bad that his own family would be in danger from him. He figured the only way to do that was to make sure he stepped up right from the beginning, accepting the truth that he'd brought this upon himself. Only when his daughter had fallen asleep did Nick place her in the bassinet his mother had pulled out of the attic, covered the child up with a light blanket and slipped out of the room.

When Nick started down the stairs, Jarrod had gone back into his study and his mother was sitting on the sofa reading a letter that Heath had brought back from town with him. Victoria would have liked to stop Nick as he headed towards the study, but she figured whatever it was that Nick needed to talk to his older brother about had to be important. If it wasn't, he'd have come into the parlor and told her exactly what he'd found out.

Nick would have done just what his mother thought, but he wanted to get the search for Camilla's mother, deceased or not, under way. Sure, it would have been easier to just tell himself that Father Robert was right; that she had died in childbirth, but he couldn't do that. He'd condemned his father for not going back and checking to see if anything had come of his liaison with Leah Thomson, and he'd turned around and done the same thing. No, he might not be able to go back into the past and right that wrong, but he sure was going to do it now.


	6. Chapter 6

Camilla

Chapter Six

Nick leaned back in his seat as the scenery outside the train's windows whipped by. Normally, when he had a window seat, he might try to enjoy the scenery. However, with four and a half month old Camilla sleeping with her head on his shoulder and the child's nanny sitting next to him, Nick's mind was not on where he was. No, his mind was still in Jarrod's study having the discussion he'd had with his older brother before he had left the house with his daughter and her nanny.

_"All they could say is that it might be her, Nick." Jarrod was leaning against the front of his desk telling Nick that the Pinkerton Agency had failed to find any death record or grave with the name Rachel-Marie Ballard. However, they had finally had some luck learning there was indeed a young woman being taken care of by a few Catholic nuns. "The report says the detective was able to learn the young woman has the same first name and would be the right age. They couldn't actually verify it was her because she refuses any outside visitors." Jarrod paused giving Nick time to absorb the fact that the agency had, after two and a half months, actually found what might be a lead. "But Nick, they said the nuns told them the young woman has not been in the best of health for months and is not expected to live much longer. You could make the trip only to find she's already passed on by the time you got there. Why make the trip?" It's not that Jarrod was trying to be callous or uncaring; he was just being practical, too practical for Nick's liking._

_Nick put his coat and buttoned it up, his eyes set like stone in his eyes. "You know the answer to that my dear brother. I have to make the trip if for no other reason than to bring her body back to bury here; Camilla deserves to grow up with at least a grave to visit if she so chooses." Nick had then turned around and left the study. Jarrod made no attempt to stop him for a few reasons… the main one being the fact that he knew full well he'd do the same thing if he was in Nick's shoes._

Nick's attention was momentarily taken away from his private thoughts to his daughter as Camilla stirred. He couldn't help but grin as the child moved her small hand up onto the side of his face, a habit she had any time she was in this position and just awake enough to have the need to know if her father was still holding her. Nick lifted his right hand, laid it on the back of his daughter's head and sighed. If nothing else, hoped this trip would bring the closure needed to move on, though he hoped to be able to make things right if he could.

/

Sister Anna made her way down the hall of the small convent she lived in with a handful of other nuns and into the room occupied by the young woman she'd brought back to the Abby with her. Her heart went out to the young woman lying on the bed and tried her best not to be angry at God. Sister Anna couldn't understand why the young woman she simply called Rachel-Marie was still with them. Her health had started going downhill just before the child she carried was born. Up to that point, no one in the convent knew the name of the child's father. It was only when Rachel-Marie overheard one of the nuns say that the doctor had not given her much chance of surviving the birth that she had asked to talk to Sister Anna in private. Later, after the child had been born and Rachel-Marie had slipped into a coma, Sister Anna had taken the child, traveled by stagecoach and other means, and found her way to the Barkley ranch….talking to no one on the way. She would have preferred to handle things differently, but she was only acting in accordance to the instructions given to her by the young woman she was truly convinced would be gone by the time she returned to Wyoming. Now, she sat down by the bed and nursed the dying woman as best she could, a practice that had become a part of her daily ritual.

Rachel-Marie opened her eyes. She didn't have to see to know she wasn't alone. Then again, she was never really alone. On the worst of days she still had her memories of a dark haired rancher (she had no reason to doubt Nick when he said his hair was dark) and the kindness and love he'd shared with her. Oh, she knew it might not be the love many spoke of, but it was more love than she'd ever known. She still remembered how she had felt the chiseled, but kind lines of his face, his deep rich voice and gentle touch, and his sweet, passionate kisses. Yes, his memory still lived in her mind and in her heart. If only her cousin hadn't started working at the telegraph office, if only she hadn't let other fears stop her from contacting him, things might be different.

"Are you hungry?" Sister Anna asked, not really expecting to hear anything. She seldom heard anything anymore. She was pleasantly surprised to hear a soft 'no' in reply to her question, though her heart broke when she heard the next words out of her young friend's mouth. "Why am I still here? Am I being punished?"

"No," Sister Anna flew from the chair she sat on to the side of the young woman's bed, "I don't believe that for a moment. We all make mistakes and to a degree pay for them, but no, there has got to be another reason for this. You must be still here for a reason." Sister Anna answered, attempting to convince herself as much as Rachel-Marie. The condition that the young woman was now in was a condition of merely existing.

The two were interrupted when Sister Hope opened the door and cautiously entered the room. "You have a visitor who flat out refuses to leave without seeing you, Rachel-Marie."

A visitor? Why was the woman even bothering her? She'd refused visitors up to the moment she had grown too weak to object. It was Sister Anna who spoke up though, "She doesn't want any visitors you know she is…" she quit speaking and her eyes grew wide as she saw a dark haired gentleman holding a young child in his arms step into the room.

"Name's Nicholas Jonathon Barkley, this is my daughter, Camilla. We ain't goin' nowhere before I talk to Rachel-Marie."

Nick's voice reached out and took a hold of the woman he'd loved that night in the schoolhouse and turned her head. She couldn't believe what her ears were telling her. She felt her chest tighten and a lump grow in her throat as she fought to keep tears from falling as she cried out, "Nick!"


	7. Chapter 7

Camille

Chapter Seven

"No, Nick, I'll never make it. I never should have lived this long." Rachel-Marie sat sideways on Nick's lap with her head on his shoulder. He'd taken her outside and was sitting on bench outside the convent. She was adamantly refusing to go back to California with him. "I thought I'd be dead within a few days after Camilla's birth. I'll still be gone soon. Let's face facts too. You're only here because you're stubborn enough to want some answers."

Nick wasn't going to deny any of that, but he was going to fight her on it, especially since he could see Sister Anna through the window taking care of the child he and Rachel-Marie had created together. "Let's get one thing straight… I was way out of line when I lay with you and then took off leaving it to you to contact me. You must have felt so used." He took her chin and tilted it upwards. "I **am **sorry for that. I have no way to prove this too you, especially after all this time, but I **have **thought about you on and off since meeting you. I was even beginning to think about going to Modesto and seeing you again."

Shock shone on Rachel-Marie's face and a tear appeared in her eye. "Really? You're not just saying that?"

"Really," Nick said as she laid her head back on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead and continued talking, "I won't deny I want answers, but I also think that Camilla deserves to have those same answers given to her when she'd older, and I do want to make things right with you. After all, you deserve better than what I gave you," Nick paused and then added, "Why didn't you just notify me once you were out of Modesto? Is it because you thought I was only using you?" He felt another twinge of guilt turn in his chest. How could he have been so stupid?

Rachel-Maria thought back on that small portion of time. She remembered the fear she'd had, still had to a small degree, of her father and the threats he'd made. She thought back to the conversation she'd had with Nick in the schoolhouse after they'd allowed themselves to be overcome by the fire they'd created. "It was partly that, but the other part…" she paused and then added softly, "You'll be upset at the other reason."

Nick knew he might not agree with whatever she had to say, but he knew he'd spoken the truth when he said answers were needed. "I might, but I won't take it out on you or our daughter, I promise you that much." He was shocked to see a few tears roll down Rachel-Marie's face, and he waited.

"I was afraid. After I heard father lose his temper yet again, I remembered you saying you also had a bit of a temper. I ran from father to protect myself and the child inside of me." She pulled back and lifted her one hand to Nick's face and felt him slightly nodding his head. He knew what was coming. "I'm sorry, Nick. I was afraid. On top of not knowing whether or not you really cared about me, I didn't know how bad your temper was and I let fear get a strong hold of me. Later," she said as she sighed and laid her head against his shoulder once more, "When I thought I'd be dead within days of her birth, I knew if I didn't tell Sister Anna who the father was, they'd put Camilla in an orphanage. I knew I had to take a chance and hope for the best. I mean, I couldn't leave her without any family and I knew mine didn't want her." Her voice started to fade, "Forgive me, please, I was just flat out scared and then I simply thought it was too late for me to go back and find out if us being together was a possibility," she then sighed and added softly, "I guess I'll go wherever you want me to go, but please, don't talk to father. I want nothing to do with that man."

Nick would have answered her, but he realized she had fallen back to sleep. He held her close and looked through the window at Sister Anna and his daughter. "Heaven help us all."

**THREE YEARS LATER**

The morning had been quiet, too quiet Silas thought. Still, who was he to complain? After dealing with Audra's reception the night before, it felt good to have no noise in the house. When he heard someone enter the dining room, he looked up from the table to see Abigail, the Barkley's new housekeeper looking at him. "May I help you, Miss Abigail?"

"Yes, Silas, you can. I was looking for the small laundry basket I bought the other day. I had it in the upstairs laundry room and it's gone. Do you know where it's at?"

Before Silas could answer, both he and Abigail were sent three feet into the air by a loud "'EE 'AW!" They whirled around, horrified to see three year old Camilla in the small laundry basket heading down the stairs. " 'ide 'em 'owboy!" the child yelled again. Silas and Abigail ran towards the bottom of the stairs just as Jarrod opened the front door in time to see the basket start to tip and his niece start to fly through the air. He dropped his briefcase and dove for the child.

"NICK!" Jarrod's holler flew out the front door and out to where Nick was standing not ten feet from the house. Since Jarrod seldom yelled as loud as he did, Nick ran into the house. The moment he was inside, Jarrod thrust Camilla into her father's hands.

Before either man had time to say anything, Camilla pointed to the basket and said, "'AD 'ORSE!" In spite of the fact that Jarrod, Silas and Abigail weren't happy about being scared half out of their wits, and Nick wanted to know what on earth was going on, all the adults burst laughing. They couldn't help it; they'd never thought of a laundry basket as a horse. Once they stopped laughing, Jarrod told Nick what part he'd seen. Nick then asked how on earth she'd gotten hold of the basket in the first place.

Abigail, who had taken the basket back upstairs and then returned, answered in disbelief. "It looks like she climbed up on top of a couple of boxes I had stacked next to the counter in the laundry room."

Nick was furious. "Where is Phoebe? Why isn't she doing the job I hired her to do!" Phoebe was the young woman Nick had hired to take care of Camilla once he and Rachel-Marie had gotten back to California. That is, after they'd gotten back and, despite the efforts of the best doctors in California, Rachel-Marie had died. Sure, his mother and sister had been willing to help with his daughter, but they had their own lives to lead.

"She was complaining last night that Camilla acts more like a boy than a girl and is a downright handful," Abigail told him, "But, I didn't think she'd up and quit. She may have done that though because I haven't seen her all morning. I just assumed she was with the child…until this happened."

Jarrod shot Nick a soft glare and chuckled, "As far as this little incident goes, sounds like a story mother told me about a brother of mine. And, in case you're thinking about it, don't ask me to watch her. I have a very important case to go over before court tomorrow." He headed for the study, but not before telling Abigail to move the boxes to another part of the laundry room…and to make sure they weren't by anything else.

Camilla looked at her father with a frown on her face. "'orse 'one. Unc' 'arrod 'ake 'orse."

Nick chuckled and lifted the child onto his shoulder. "Don't try to frame your Uncle Jarrod; remember he's an attorney. Guess I have no choice but to work something out until we can get new help. Still, I have some work I have to get done." He shook his head as he kept a hold of her hands knowing how hard it was going to be to get anything of real value done. He might not like it; however, he didn't see where he had any other choice. Abigail had made it crystal clear she wasn't a nanny when Victoria hired her on as a housekeeper and Silas was going to be leaving to visit some relatives soon. No, until his mother returned he would just have to keep Camilla with him. "Hold on, little cowgirl." He headed out the door only to have another grin put on his face as his daughter yelled again, "'ide 'em 'owboy!" He covered his one ear and thought "Did she _have _to inherit my loud voice?"


	8. Chapter 8

Camilla

Chapter Eight

The men and women who were moving up and down the sidewalks of Stockton smiled as Nick drove the buggy down the street. The famous rancher had Camilla on top of his lap and the small child's hands were on top of her father's as he held the reins. The gossip that had surrounded the child's appearance had started disappearing after he'd brought Rachel-Marie back to Stockton. By the time he'd had to bury her, the people of Stockton had found something else to talk about. Now, most everyone adored seeing the little cowgirl with her loving father.

For the most part, the looks he and his little girl got from the residents of Stockton simply flattered Nick. No, when it came to him and his daughter, the only thing that Nick really found downright irritating at times was the way some of the citizens continued to insist on trying to find him a wife. Fatherhood might not have changed a lot of things about him, but it had gotten him to sit down and take a better look at the women he'd been looking at in the past. With the exception of Rachel-Marie (the Pinkerton's report had cast a definite favorable look upon the young woman) he hadn't had the best of luck….mostly, because he hadn't really taken the time he needed to get to know any woman.

"Mr. Barkley, Mr. Barkley!" The high pitched, squirrely voice of Hester Lee, who stood across the street, made Nick cringe as he pulled up to the general mercantile, moved Camilla off his lap and climbed out of the buggy. The woman was the worst offender when it came to the town's females' matchmaking attempts. He went to turn and go inside, intending to act as if he hadn't heard her when he about died of embarrassment. Camilla had pointed across the street and said quite loudly 'Miss Lee! W'at a pain in the butt! Nick went a hundred shades of red as a few men standing nearby chuckled at the child mimicking her father's words from the week before. Fortunately for Nick, the men liked Mrs. Lee as much as they liked a bad egg, and Mrs. Lee had had her attention distracted the moment she called out Nick's name. That being the case, she'd missed the last part of what the child said.

As Mrs. Lee hurried across the street, Nick looked at Camilla and begged her to be quiet at least until the woman was gone. He wasn't surprised when Camilla looked and asked, quite innocently, "..Y?"

"Because I said so!" Nick barked as quietly as he could, which meant the men nearby again chuckled and Mrs. Lee, who also heard Nick, gave him a smile. The smile reaffirmed that the woman had not heard what his daughter had said. A pouty look came upon the child's face, but Nick was relieved when Camilla shut her mouth.

"I'm glad I caught you, Mr. Barkley," Mrs. Lee held her head as high as she could, Nick was sure if she held it any higher her nose would bleed, "I was wondering, if by chance, you or one of your brothers could help my niece move into our guest house on Saturday. My husband will be out of town, as will my sons."

Nick wanted to reach over and wipe the painted smile off the woman's face. He knew full well she had plenty of help available if she really needed it. No, this was just another one of her ploys to try getting him a wife; he just knew it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lee. I've got other commitments for the next two weeks. I can't speak for Heath, but Jarrod will be out of town." He wasn't about to tell her that Jarrod had just asked his young lady to marry him. Knowing Mrs. Lee, she'd try to weasel one of her daughters into the wedding party somehow, even if it the wedding was a year away. He then hurried into the store.

Once inside he handed the list of items his mother had sent with him to Henry, the storeowner's new clerk. The young man went quickly to work gathering up all the things that the Barkleys needed. Nick felt Camilla tugging on his arm; he had set her on the floor, but kept a hold of her one hand. He looked down and asked, "What is it, child? What do you need?"

Camilla pointed out the open door. Mrs. Lee was talking to one of her friends, a blonde haired gal wearing a green dress and the worst hat he'd ever seen in his life. He thought it looked like a dead animal. His daughter must have agreed because she piped up, again quite loud, "…Y she 'ave dead doggy on 'er 'ead?"

Nick hurried to shut the door as the women outside had turned their heads as if they had just missed what the child had said and were hoping she'd repeat the words over; he didn't want that. The moment the door was shut and the women outside had left, Henry burst out laughing. "My mother always said there was nothing like a child's honest words to embarrass parents."

"Yeah, well," Nick half grinned and half barked as he grabbed Camilla … she'd walked over to shelves that held ropes and spurs and managed to get to the third shelf; it held the spurs. "I think this one is gonna be the death of me yet, especially if Laura doesn't get back soon." Laura was the woman he'd hired to take Phoebe's place. Unlike Camilla's former nanny, Laura had been raised on a small ranch and was half tomboy herself. She saw no problem with Camilla's level of energy and kept up with her just fine.

Henry just laughed as he handed Nick the bill. He was quietly hoping the child's nanny would be late coming back from her family visit. He didn't get entertainment this good very often. Of course, he wasn't going to tell Nick Barkley that. No, if the man knew Henry saw the trips Camilla made into town with her father as pure entertainment, Nick would probably leave the young child at home with her grandmother. After Nick and Camilla left the store, Henry watched from the store window as father and daughter drove out of sight. Afterwards, he turned around and went back to work…still chuckling over the thought of a dead dog on Mrs. Lee's friend's head.


	9. Chapter 9

Camilla

Chapter Nine

Victoria had just sat down at the table with Jarrod when they heard the door open and slam shut. "Sounds like Nick…" Jarrod started to say, only to find his jaw fall to the floor, as Heath walked in with one very dirty Camilla in one arm and a rope wrapped around his upper arms.

"What on earth is going on, Heath?" Victoria grinned, as she asked the question; she was doing her best not to laugh at the sight before her eyes. Jarrod was fighting laughter too.

"Camilla. Someone has to tell Nick that teaching her to rope is okay, as long as it's not her uncle!" Heath answered as he unwound himself from the rope.

"There was no need to slam the door just because she did that." Jarrod lost the battle and started laughing.

"That wasn't me!" Heath handed Camilla over to Laura, who had just returned from visiting her relatives and entered the house moments after he and Camilla had. "She," he said as he pointed to his niece as Laura took her out of the dining room to go clean her up, "Grabbed the door before I could and slammed it shut."

Victoria lifted her hand to her forehead and shook her head slightly. "When I said Nick needed a child just like him, I didn't know he'd be a widower and living here when it happened!" Both Jarrod and Heath smiled, but wisely kept their mouths shut on that subject. No, they simply changed the topic to something else.

While Victoria, Jarrod and Heath talked, Nick was just arriving back on the ranch; he'd traveled to Lodi on some necessary business. After unsaddling Coco and making sure the horse was comfortable in the stall, Nick headed for the house. As he drew near, Nick heard voices coming from one of the bedroom windows. He couldn't help but laugh as he heard Camilla yelling, "My spurs! They're mine!" His grin only grew wider when he heard a ranch hand who didn't realize just how good Nick's hearing was say to another man who had just been hired to work for the Barkleys, "They say she looks like her late mother, but let me tell you…she acts just like her father!" Nick saved the man the embarrassment of realizing he'd been overheard and headed into the house.

"DADDY!" Camilla, who had been put in a clean dress by her nanny, flew down the stairs and up into her father's open arms. "You're home!" The child, whose speech had improved drastically over the course of the past year, began looking through her father's shirt pocket. "Where is it?" That brought another smile to Nick's face. He knew what she was looking for, as all she'd talked about before he left, was her upcoming birthday.

"Yeah, I'm home little cowgirl, but don't look for your present yet. You still have another month." He set the disappointed child down and started for the washroom. However, he stopped in his tracks and burst out laughing after his daughter very bluntly asked why Nanny Laura had put her in a dress then and added the fact that her pants were just fine. Four year olds weren't supposed to act like this, were they?

"I see you're home." Victoria walked out of the dining room and gave Nick a hug.

"I could have stayed longer, but with Jarrod's wedding coming up I figured I'd best hightail it back home. Besides," he answered as he felt Camilla wrapped her legs and arms around his right leg, "I promised someone else I wouldn't be late." He looked down and winked at his daughter; she simply giggled and begged for a ride. He left his mother, and brothers, who had come out of the dining room, and walked the best he could down to the wash room. That wasn't so easy considering Camilla liked to bounce up and down hollering 'yee haw' most of the way.

While Nick washed up, Camilla was talking a mile a minute. She was more than eager to let her father know that Jarrod's intended, one Mary Vance, had been around the house more and more. She also told him that "Grandma and Miss Mary"were spending too much time together. That part had Nick fighting to keep a straight face. He was pretty sure his young daughter was just a tad bit jealous of the attention Jarrod's upcoming wedding was getting. Maybe it was a good thing Gene had eloped and was now living in New York. At least, it was one less chore to deal with. However, he stiffened and closed his eyes, as his daughter asked the one question he had known would be coming for years, he'd just hoped it would have been a bit longer in coming.

"Where's my mama? Ain't I got one?" Camilla did her best to look up at her father's face, he seemed ten feet tall to the young girl. Nick set the washcloth he'd been drying his hands with down on the sink, leaned over and picked his young daughter up.

"You mean to say; haven't I got one…" the moment the words were out of Nick's mouth he went into shock. Since when did he correct anyone's speech? He walked over to a nearby chair and sat down, setting his daughter on his left leg.

Nick looked at Camilla's hair; it had been black the day she'd arrived at the ranch and it remained black. Her face looked as if someone had shrunk her mother's and then given it to the child. He sighed and told her the simple basics; he didn't think she needed the whole story at her young age. "You're mother's in heaven."

Camilla's eyes clouded up for a moment then she asked, "Why? I need a mama."

Again, Nick wondered if his daughter was really only four years old. "Someday you might have one again, until then you have me and your grandma, along with your Uncles and Aunts."

Camilla didn't know exactly what someday meant, but she didn't ask. She slid off her father's lap, stopped asking about mothers, and ran out of the washroom and up to her bedroom. Nick wouldn't know until later that once she'd heard it wasn't her birthday yet, Camilla had gone to find her pants and spurs. Even at her age, she knew how she preferred to dress. It would be a battle that, in time, she would win; everyone said it was because she also inherited the Barkley stubbornness.


	10. Chapter 10

Camilla

Chapter Ten (Conclusion)

The day of Jarrod's wedding had arrived. No one had had time to take a break, as the last details still needed to be taken care of. Gene and his wife, Pamela, along with Audra and her husband, Morgan, were helping out by keeping an eye on the children who came with some of the guests. Pamela looked around and noticed that her niece, Camilla, was gone.

"Gene, Camilla is gone." Pamela said.

"What?" Gene whipped his head around and saw that his wife was right. His niece had disappeared from sight, and the wedding was just a couple hours away. "I'd best go tell Nick."

Audra and Pamela stayed with the other children while Morgan started looking in every place he could think of. They all knew with everyone busy getting the last few things they had to get done, the last thing they needed was this to happen. Nick was not going to be happy at all about his daughter taking off to get into who knows what kind of trouble.

While Gene went and told Nick about his daughter's disappearance, Camilla had found a mud puddle. She still could see the house, but her pretty party dress, as Aunt Audra had called it, was driving her crazy and she was bored. Kicking off her shoes, Camilla decided jumping into the puddle sounded like a good way to have fun. She was laughing as she jumped into and ran around the puddle.

Nick was leaning against the corral talking to Jarrod. It was just small talk to keep Jarrod from getting nervous. Nick figured that if he ever found a woman to put up with him and his daughter, his brother would do the same for him. He turned his head a little bit and noticed Gene hurrying towards him. He straightened up as he knew Gene was supposed to be helping watch the children.

Nick got a funny feeling that whatever Gene was going to tell him had Camilla involved in it. Still he waited until Gene had stopped in front of him before asking, "What's wrong?"

"Camilla is gone, and I'm not sure where she is. She was playing with the other children one minute and the next thing we know, she's gone."

Jarrod wanted to say a few choice words. This was not the time for his niece to go disappearing on them. It was getting close to time for his bride to arrive. "She can't have gone far. Let's start looking!"

They all agreed and split up looking for Camilla. As Nick went around the house, he told himself he should have known better than to think his daughter would stay around the children at least until after the wedding. After all, she didn't exactly believe in staying in one place very long. He heard laughter coming from his left side. He turned his head and saw his daughter running around in the mud. His eyes widened in shock and he bellowed as he ran to where his daughter was playing in the mud, needless to say her dress was all muddy. "Camilla Rachel Barkley!" Nick picked up his now very frightened and crying daughter and, holding her far enough away from him to keep his suit from getting muddy, he turned and ran towards the house yelling for Miss Laura. He knew he'd have to comfort the child later, but not until this matter was taken care of. After all, it was too close to the beginning of the wedding to do otherwise.

When Nick got back to the front of the house with his daughter he handed her off to Miss Laura, who had heard her boss yelling for her. Like Nick, she was horrified to see the condition the young child was in. She quickly took her into the house and moved as quickly as possible to the wash room. Victoria muttered a few words under her breath and hurried to get a new dress for her granddaughter. Later, when the subdued child was returned to her Aunt Audra and Aunt Pamela, both swore up and down their niece would not get out of their sight until the child went off to bed. It was a promise that they kept. By the time the wedding was over, the reception held and the bride and groom had taken off, Camilla had not had the chance to escape again.

**/**

Victoria walked through the now quiet house and into the parlor to find Nick looking into the empty fireplace; he seemed a million miles away. What with Jarrod's wedding and Heath getting serious with his young lady, Alice Higgins, she figured she knew what was on Nick's mind. So, she simply walked up and looked into the fireplace with him. Call it a mother's intuition, but she seemed to know pushing him to talk was not what he needed at the moment.

After awhile, Nick turned his head and looked at his mother and surprised her not by talking about the fact that he was raising a daughter without her mother, but to thank her and apologize to her. What had she done for Nick that he was thanking her? She'd been too busy with the wedding to say more than good morning or ask for help. And, as far as apologizing to her, she was just as confused. What had he done? "Thank you? You're sorry? What for?" Victoria asked.

Nick looked towards the entrance to the parlor and towards the stairs that led to Camilla's bedroom. He then smiled and looked back at his mother. "Thank you for just being here, I love Camilla only…" he shifted his weight a bit and shrugged his shoulders. "She's a handful. I'm sorry, because…" he shifted his weight again only this time Victoria was beaming from ear to ear. She figured she knew what was coming. It was. "I'm sorry for everything, and anything, I put you through while I was growing up. Was I that bad?"

The expression on his face and in his eyes was so priceless that Victoria burst out laughing. She couldn't help it. Nick had indeed been a handful. "You weren't bad, son," Victoria finally answered as she got her laughter under control, "You were just very active; nothing wrong with that either. Don't worry, I survived and so will you. It's getting late though. We best get to bed. Camilla doesn't believe in sleeping in. It seems," Victoria started laughing as she winked at Nick, "She also has her father's sleeping habits. Oh," Victoria said as she started to leave the room, "By the way, Camilla's new spurs came today. I hope I hid them well enough to be able to surprise her with them."

Nick's eyes widened and groaned as he started climbing the stairs. If his mother hadn't been successful in hiding the spurs, he knew just how he'd find out as he remembered the last time Camilla had found a pair of spurs. Yes, it had been a very rude awakening for him. The pain in his thighs had almost made him forget his promise to control his temper, the look on his daughter's frightened face when he'd let out a holler reminded him. He'd managed to bite his tongue, curse in his head, and give his daughter a stern talking to without raising his voice. Later, after he'd comforted her assuring her he was all right, Nick had gone out to the barn and let out a string of cuss words as he broken down boxes that needed breaking anyway.

As Nick climbed the stairs to bed, he couldn't help but chuckle and decided maybe he should invest in some sort of padding to sleep with, just in case his daughter found the hidden spurs.

**/**

_Looking back on it, I sure was hard on my father. I mean, he really wanted me to be a lady and heaven knows my grandmother and aunts did their best to help him, but my father's love of ranching and wide open spaces must have been put into me before I was born. I only wore dresses when I had to, climbed trees and jumped out of them, pulled more pranks that a body should have a right to and wound up in more than one fight at school. Though, in my defense when it came to school, I would never have lifted a finger if Sally Mae had just learned to keep that gossipy mouth of hers shut! _

_I, eventually, wound up working alongside my father on the ranch much to the chagrin of my grandmother and aunts. They did their best to talk some sense into me. They might have succeeded only when I was thirteen my father finally met the woman of his dreams, Michelle Ann Hope, a woman with two children (both girls) of her own. She encouraged me in my love of the outdoors and helped my father to accept the fact there was nothing wrong with the fact that I wished to work on the ranch. A fact that, thankfully, my future husband would also accept. _

_The passing years would add two boys to our family, one of which would eventually work alongside my father and me. _

_Note made by: Camilla R. Barkley Hannifin_


End file.
